Monthly Archives: July 2015

Funded by a federal grant ($280,500) from the US State Department and American Councils, the 2015 UD-NSLIY Summer Institute of the Chinese Language and Culture in China was successfully launched on June 29, 2015! The Confucius Institute at UD, the sponsor of the 2015 UD-NSLIY, organized a Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) for 25 talented American high school students who were recruited from a very competitive national selection process for the prestigious NSLIY Scholarship program. Coming over from the states including California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, West Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, DC, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, Missouri, Montana, Massachusetts, and Alabama, the program participants, as well as some parents, received a carefully designed Pre-Departure Orientation that provided information on various important aspects of the summer program such as program overview and expectations, the structure of Chinese language immersion, tutoring sessions, culture course and E-portfolio course, homestay, “Strive for Excellence” activities, Chinese language course placement test, discussion sessions on health, safety, security, sexual harassment, cross-cultural communication culture shock, program textbook overview, Student Code of Conduct, as well as program Q & A Session. One of the highlights of the PDO was a presentation by Dr. Carol Radomski of the US Department of State, in which she greeted the program participants on behalf of the State Department, briefed them on the history of NSLIY, and discussed the significance of the NSLIY program, program goals, citizen ambassador, people to people diplomacy, cultural exchange programs, cross-cultural communication and respect, safety and security issues, etc. The two-day PDO activities, both informative and lively, and full of fun, familiarized the students with the summer institute and prepared them well for the upcoming China trip. “I am excited about this program,” Leah Booher, one of the program participants, was quoted as saying. “And I am ready.”